This document is intended to benefit the many individual school districts who, inspired by the Gallup polls, are now conducting their own surveys. The publication reviews the extensive volume of literature on polling and survey research methods and outlines the main steps to be taken in conducting a survey. Some of the areas covered are the…

The papers in this volume are based on presentations made to the Workshop on Urban Ethnic Community Development held in June, 1970, at the Catholic University of America and sponsored by the Urban Task Force of the United States Catholic Conference. Robert Janes summarizes and updates the account of the nature and the role of ethnic groups in…

Examines and corrects political science textbook errors concerning the electoral college. Textbooks frequently attribute specific provisions and functions of the college to the federal government when, in fact, they are controlled by the states. Historical dates and contingency provisions are other areas erroneously cited. (MJP)

This article offers a strategy for using Australian women's history in a United States women's history survey course. To develop the theme of gender relations in settler societies, the author recommends using transnational categories, such as gender frontier and settler colonialism, direct comparisons between Australian and American women's…

This resource book provides activities about elections and campaigns that involve students in active learning. The book introduces students to the organization of government and how politicians present themselves and are covered by the media. The activities include literature links, primary sources, and maps and charts for tracking results. The…

This document is a guidebook containing a sequence of learning strategies to teach facts and concepts of voter education. Strategies are grouped into four grade divisions: primary (K-3), intermediate (4-6), secondary (7-9), and high school (10-12). Each grade section is organized into the following order: introduction, strategy, major idea,…

This report provides a general overview of the activities and experiences of the high school sophomores of 1980, using information from High School and Beyond's (HS&B) base-year, first follow-up (1982), and second follow-up (1984) surveys. It contains a summary of descriptive information about 1980 sophomores two years after leaving high…

This narrative about new and old technologies in communicating school election issues to the voting public discusses desktop publishing, word processing, television tapes, and public opinion sampling techniques. Groundwork involves understanding how campaigns are organized to determine appropriate application of technology to strategies and to…

If one counts both the mid-term and presidential elections, the United States has had the lowest voter turnout of any democracy in the world. In the 1986 election, only 16.6% of the eligible 18-24 year olds voted, and although final census surveys for that year are not yet published, it is unlikely that the turnout for that age group would have…

The purpose of this guide is to provide voters, officeholders, and candidates with background information on major foreign policy issues so that they can follow the 1980 presidential debates and reach their own informed conclusions. Thirteen major foreign policy topics are covered. The material is written in telegraphic style to get the essential…

This survey examined the attitudes of people in four states where tax or spending limitations appeared on the ballot in November 1978. It found that people had positive attitudes toward schools in their communities, believed schools are doing an above-average job, and viewed schools as a public service that should not be reduced. Results suggest…

The National Longitudinal Study (NLS) is a long-term program designed to determine what happens to young adults after they leave high school, as measured by their subsequent educational and vocational activities, plans, aspirations, and attitude at various points in time. The second followup survey, which is reported here, began in October 1974…

The relative credibility of media is measured and compared over a 16-year period by the Roper Organization for the Television Information Office. Sources of information and trends in viewing habits and hours of viewing are described; the relative desirability of media as viewed by various population groups is reported. Changes in opinion as to…

In an experiment conducted under classroom conditions with 8th grade students, the simulation game "Democracy" was shown to be effective at teaching that "log-rolling" is an acceptable part of the legislative process. Two aspects of the game--role identification and game structure--were shown to contribute independently to its effectiveness.…

Decreased civic and political participation is a pressing problem in the United States. Today, Americans are less likely to vote, work for a party or candidate, attend a meeting, or belong to a social or community organization than they were 40 years ago. A study used the Community Indicators Survey, a nationally representative sample of 1,206…